Friday 56 #79 & BB #55 – Digger by Joseph Flynn

Posted on April 8, 2016 by fundinmental

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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the shelf is Digger by Joseph Flynn.

MY FRIDAY 56

Even so, the spell of seduction Hunt had woven over Powell still held: Everything and everyone involved in the MicroCosmic deal would come out golden if Hunt’s scheme succeeded. Because Anthony Tiburon Hunt had gotten his hands on the invention of the century: a superconducting microprocessor.

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

The church was dark until John Fortunato struck the match. The point of light revealed rows of votive candles in red glass sleeves. John touched the match to a wick.

“God keep you Jamie Doolan,” he murmured.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

As a soldier in Vietnam, John Fortunato fought in the crushing darkness of the tunnels of Cu Chi, from which the Vietcong launched their deadliest operations. Back home in Elk River, Illinois, he secretly re-created those deadly tunnels. Partly a memorial, partly a kind of exorcism, they now lie hidden beneath the town’s peaceful streets.

But that peace shatters when Fortunato witnesses the brutal sidewalk shooting of an innocent victim. The vicious crime is only the first assault by a man who will wage a full-scale battle to control Elk River. And on the front line is John Fortunato, whose secret tunnels will provide the battleground for his own war. As his enemy is about to learn, when this veteran warrior goes down, he’s just beginning to fight.

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I am a “cover girl”.

Which cover do you like best?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
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Friday 56 #78 & BB #54 – Ten Big Ones @janetevanovich

Posted on April 1, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the shelf is Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich.

I have several of her books on my shelf, so I put them in the random generator and Ten Big Ones, a Stephanie Plum novel, popped out.

I love Stephanie Plum and her sidekick, Lula. Feeling down, pick up one of these babies and I think you will perk right up. 🙂

MY FRIDAY 56

“Fuckin’ A. Oh crap!” Snap. Snap.

“You gotta remember about fudge,” Grandma said.

Sally nodded. “Fudgin’ A.”

We all did a mental eeyeuuw. Fudgin’ A didn’t sound tasty coming out of Sally’s mouth.

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

The way I see it, life is a jelly doughnut. You don’t really know what it’s about until you bite into it. And then, just when you decide it’s good you drop a big glob of jelly on your best T-shirt.

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS

“I’m Stephanie Plum. My mother says that I’m famous and have to set a good example. She’s right, but I’m from Jersey and truth is, I have a hard time getting a grip on the good example thing.”

Swing off the Jersey Turnpike and you’ll be in bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s neighborhood. You’ll know it because all hell will be breaking loose. Not that she looks for trouble – it just seems to follow her. In Ten Big Ones it explodes at a deli, and when Stephanie pegs a robber as a member of a vicious Trenton gang, they peg her as dead. Vice cop Joe Morelli fears she’s in way too deep – even with the help of crime-solving, cross-dressing, bus driver Sally Sweet, and Stephanie’s friend Lula riding shotgun as backup. With a notorious killer on her tail, Stephanie figures the best hideout is Ranger’s secret lair…
Original.

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I am a “cover girl”.

Which cover do you like best?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
Leave your link in the comments, I’ll drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #77 & BB #53 – The Coffin Dancer @JefferyDeaver

Posted on March 25, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the shelf is The Coffin Dancer by Jeffrey Deaver.

Jeffrey Deaver is a New York Times Bestselling author and pens the Lincoln Rhyme series. Each book can stand alone.

For the suspense/thriller lovers out there, these are must read novels.

MY FRIDAY 56

He glanced out the window to avoid having to shake her moist hand, tipped with five white squooshy worms.

“Pleased to meet you,” he said, turning back, sippig his new cup of tea, which he found disgustig. Sheila noticed that two of her stubby nails were dirty. She tried unobtrusively to dig the crud from under them.

(page 56 in paperback)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

When Edward Carney said good-bye to his wife, Percey, he never thought it would be the last time he’d see her.

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

Smokeout’s bitingly entertaining portrait of a misbehaving Florida state legislature drew raves for both its inventiveness and timeliness, and the Providence Journal declared, “Carl Hiaasen may have an heir apparent.” Now, Date takes out after another cherished state institution, and the results are every bit as subversive.

In the “ideal” designed community of Serenity, Florida, pride of the late theme-park king Waldo Whipple, things are far from ideal. The houses are listing, the regulations are onerous, the mayor is lecherous, and the occasional Wild Dominion animal has started turning up dead. Graffiti is sprouting in odd places-“Serenityites Arise!” and “WWWS: What Would Waldo Say?”-and when a reporter begins poking around, he quickly discovers that Waldo’s successors have a decidedly different vision for America’s Hometown-and if certain people don’t stop interfering with it, animals won’t be the only things that start turning up dead. . . .

Filled with wicked humor and razor-sharp plotting, Deep Water is delightfully twisted-and maybe more plausible than any of us would like to think.

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There are quite a few covers, and I couldn’t find the one I have on my paperback, so I picked the one that jumped out at me the most.

I am a “cover girl”.

Which cover do you like best?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
Leave your link in the comments, I’ll drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #76 & BB #52 – Deep Water by S V Date

Posted on March 18, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the shelf is Deep Water by S V Date, author of Smokeout.

No question, I grabbed this because of the cover…and title!

Book design by Meighan Cavanaugh

MY FRIDAY 56

“Oh, right,” Armstrong agreed. “They contract for their own police and fire protection, they can build their own airport, without state approval, or set up their own power grid or even build a nuclear power plant. They sure as hell don’t have to let me monitor their environmental compliance. They do, though, have to follow the general laws of Florida. So if I can show they’re violating water-quality laws, I can get a subpoena and bust ’em. I’m waiting on some water samples from a CI. If they show what I think they’ll show, then I can leak you the whole kit and caboodle You put it in the paper.”

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

The blue sea kayak glided silently through tea-colored water as Irlo “Bobby” King let the paddle rest against his chest. Somewhere in the thick morning mist, not so far ahead now, was the lone acacia tree that, according to his earlier reconnaissance, marked the southern boundary of Africaland.

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

Filled with wicked humor and razor-sharp plotting, Deep Water is delightfully twisted-and maybe more plausible than any of us would like to think.

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I am a “cover girl”.

What do you like or dislike about the cover?

~~~

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
Leave your link in the comments, I’ll drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #75 & BB #51 – In Contempt by Christopher Darden

Posted on March 11, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the shelf is In Contempt by Christopher Darden with Jess Walter.

Whenever there is a controversy and a book comes to light, I want it.

I remember the O J Simpson trial so well. I remember where I was when the verdict was rendered. Do you?

MY FRIDAY 56

An athlete’s worth in college sports can’t be separated from his performance on the field or court or diamond or on the track. We were commodities, and as a young black man coming to terms with the legacy of slavery I did not want to be a commodity.

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

The clerk, Deirdre Robertson, stumbled over his name, and for just a moment a last bit of hope hung there on her voice. But I knew. I’d known from the beginning, from the moment I walked into that courtroom a year earlier and saw that jury. I could see in their eyes the need to settle some score. And I was the only prosecutor who knew what the score was. Still, to hear it announced like that was like a swift baseball bat to the stomach.

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

Offers a personal perspective on the O.J. Simpson trial and shares the author’s observations on legal strategy, racial issues, and the principal lawyers, officials, and witnesses involved in the case.

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I am a “cover girl”.

What do you like or dislike about the cover?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
Leave your link in the comments, I’ll drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #74 & BB #50 – No One Lives Forever @JordanDane

Posted on March 4, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the shelf is No One Lives Forever by Jordan Dane, a romantic suspense.

Book III of the No One Series. The books will stand alone.

A simple cover that makes me wonder…is she dead or alive?

MY FRIDAY 56

“You trust this woman,”

“Yes, I do,” he lied.

Of course, he’d be the one to make the call on the payout, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her he’d be in Brazil to do it. And if the funds got paid early, Charboneau’s life would have no more value to the kidnappers. Timing would be everything.

(page 56 in paperback)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

Gripping in nine-millimeter Beretta, Nicholas Charboneau peered through the peephole of the penthouse suite, responding to a soft knock. The red and black uniforms of hotel personnel should not have given him any cause for alarm. And yet, the hair at the nape of his neck reacted to a rush of adrenaline. Two men stood by a rolling cart of white linen, covered with food platters and a bottle of Brazilian merlot with a distinctive label.

GOODREADS BLURB

Nothing Is What It Seems

Born to a childhood pitted by violence, Christian Delacorte is desperate for peace when he embarks on a new life with the woman he loves, Detective Raven Mackenzie. But soon his old life comes calling—in the tempting form of a mysterious woman assassin.

When a Deadly Seductress Comes Calling

Jasmine Lee is determined to collect an old marker from Christian. He owes her—big time—and she needs his help freeing her kidnapped lover, Nicholas Charboneau—a powerful mogul linked to Chicago’s underworld. Christian doesn’t trust her, but Jasmine entices him to leave Raven behind when she reveals his shocking connection to Charboneau.

And a Lethal Race Against Time Begins

Christian has seven days to attempt an impossible rescue of the father he never knew. And when a woman assassin with ulterior motives makes a lousy ally, Christian is alone to face the stark reality that no one lives forever . . . and he might be the next to die.
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I am a “cover girl”.

What do you like or dislike about the cover?

~~~

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

Leave your link in the comments, I’ll drop by to see what’s shakin’.

Problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #73 & BB #49 – Treasure @cusslerofficial

Posted on February 26, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the list is Treasure by Clive Cussler.

I have a “few” of his books and have loved them all.

I can’t get enough of his wild adventures!

How about YOU? Want to hunt for some treasure with Dirk Pitt?

Cover art – 1988 – Sanjulian

MY FRIDAY 56

Never in his wildest nightmares did he see himself in such a crazy predicament. One wrong physical movement, a slight error in judgment and fifty people would find a deep, unknown grave in the sea. Not fair, he cried in his mind over and over. Not fair.

(page 56 in paperack)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

A small, flickering light danced eerily through the black of the tunneled passageway. A man dressed in a woolen tunic that dropped below his knees paused and raised an oil lamp above his head. The dim glow illuminated a human figure inside a gold and crystal casket while casting a grotesque, wavering shadow against the smoothly cut wall behind The man in the tunic stared into the sightless eyes for a few moments, and then he lowered the lamp and tuned away.

GOODREADS BLURB

FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR TO THE SWELTERING SANDS OF EGYPT — DIRK PITT HAS THE POWER TO SAVE THE WORLD!

A violent rise of fundamentalism in Mexico and Egypt has the United States captive inside its own borders. But when the beautiful Egyptian Secretary General of the United Nations survives a murderous plane crash in Greenland, Dirk Pitt is pulled into the storm. Searching for the most spectacular missing treasure of the ancient world, he finds a startling connection between the murder attempt and the chaos that is gripping the world. And when the Presidents of Egypt and Mexico are taken hostage, the hunt begins in earnest. Now it’s Dirk Pitt against a conspiracy of evil that reaches from the arctic circle to Tierra del Fuego — and the sides are about even!

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I am a “cover girl”.

Cover: Craig White

The cover below is for the mass paperback published in 2011. Which one do you like best?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

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Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #72 & BB #48 – The Lost World @CrichtonWebsite

Posted on February 19, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the list is The Lost World by Michael Crichton.

All I can say about Michael’s books…I LOVE them. Critters…LOVE them. So…

let’s travel to the Lost World and see what the dinosaurs

MY FRIDAY 56

“Oh, he went on one of his field trips,” Thorne said. “Very excited about it, before he went. I outfitted him myself – loaned hi my latest field pack. Everything he could ever want in yst forty-seven pounds. He liked it. Left last Monday, four days ago.”

“For where?”

I think we all can figure out where he went! 🙂

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

Introduction: The late twentieth century has witnessed a remarkable growth in scientific interest in the subject of extinction.

Are you concerned about cloning and the genetic research scientists are working on? Who knows what they do behind closed doors!

GOODREADS BLURB

The Lost World: Jurassic Park Junior Novelisation captures all the thrills and chills of The Lost World story – with heart-stopping suspense, hair-raising action, and illustrated with colour photographs from the film. Something has survived…In 1993, an ambitious entrepreneur named John Hammond spoke four words which ushered in a new era of motion picture excitement and set worldwide boxoffice records…”Welcome to Jurassic Park”. Now, a few years later, Hammond makes a startling confession to scientist Ian Malcolm: another island of dinosaurs exists…an island where dinosaurs have been living and breeding in the wild…the Lost World.
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I am a “cover girl”.

Jacket design by Chip Kidd

The hardcover copy I have has the cover above. Which one do you like best?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

If you have a problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #71 & BB #47 – Fountain Society @wescraven

Posted on February 12, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

~~~Next up on the list is Fountain Society by Wes Craven.

Wes Craven also directed Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Will Fountain Society scare your pants off?

The hardcover is super cool.

The man’s head is three dimensional, making it super creepy.

MY FRIDAY 56

“Maybe not,” said the banker. “You’ll have a club in your hands then and you’ll be twice as dangerous.”

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

The cell held fifteen men. It was ten by twelve and stank of sweat, filth and fear. The only amenity offered was a hole in the center of the concrete floor which served as a toilet.

Why they are in the cell, I can’t tell ya.

GOODREADS BLURB

The brilliant Dr. Peter Jance, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, is only weeks away from succumbing to cancer. But a top-secret government organization known as the Fountain Society gives Peter a new lease on life by transplanting his brain into the body of his much younger clone. When the brand-new Peter becomes disgusted with the immorality of the project and wants out, he finds himself on the run for his very life.

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I am a “cover girl”.

Jacket Design by Timothy Hsu and Jackie Seow

What does the cover say to you? I shared two, which do you like the best?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Friday 56 #70 & BB #46 – The Scarpetta Factor @1pcornwell

Posted on February 5, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Next up on the list is The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell.

I have been a huge fan of Patricia’s for many years and I couldn’t resist grabbing this. I cannot give it a rating because, quite frankly, I read it some time ago.

There are so many books and so little time, whether I will reread this again or not…

MY FRIDAY 56

The card’s red envelope was blank, nothing on it, not Benton’s name or Scarpetta’s or Dodie Hodge’s.

(page 56 in hardcover)

MY BOOK BEGINNINGS

A frigid wind gusted in from the East River, snatching at Dr Kay Scarpetta’s coat as she walked quickly along 30th Street.

I must say, I am disappointed that neither the 56 or the book’s beginning did anything for me, but here they are. I hope you will check it out anyway.

GOODREADS BLURB

It is the week before Christmas. A tanking economy has prompted Dr. Kay Scarpetta-despite her busy schedule and her continuing work as the senior forensic analyst for CNN- to offer her services pro bono to New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of unexpected and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same telecast, she receives a startling call-in from a former psychiatric patient of Benton Wesley’s. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds an ominous package-possibly a bomb-waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta’s life finds her embroiled in a surreal plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionairess with whom Lucy seems to have shared a secret past.

Scarpetta’s CNN producer wants her to launch a TV show called The Scarpetta Factor. Given the bizarre events already in play, she fears that her growing fame will generate the illusion that she has a “special factor,” a mythical ability to solve all her cases. She wonders if she will end up like other TV personalities: her own stereotype.

The Scarpetta Factor, the seventeenth in the series, finds the familiar cast of characters together again in New York. Marino is working for the NYPD; Benton Wesley uses his forensic psychological expertise at Kirby and Bellevue; and Lucy continues to dazzle with her expertise in forensic computer investigations as she works yet another case with NY prosecutor Jaime Berger.

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I am a “cover girl”.

Jacket Design by Richard Hasselberger

What does the cover say to you?
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